World War II History Tours in Munich
As the birthplace and former headquarters of the Nazi Party, Munich played a key role in the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich—and World War II. Here are some of the places in and around Munich that World War II history buffs must not miss.
The Hofbrauhaus is where Hitler and the National Socialists held their first meeting in 1920, and where Hitler delivered one of his first speeches on the burgeoning ideology of Nazism in Germany. Today it’s a popular Bavarian beer hall where visitors and locals alike sip steins and take in the festive vibe.
Feldherrnhalle was the site of the famous Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, when officers of the Bavarian State Police clashed violently with Adolf Hitler supporters who were trying to storm the Bavarian Defence Ministry and seize power. Following the failed coup, Hitler was arrested and sentenced to a term in prison.
Forerunner of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, the short-lived German Workers’ Party was founded in Munich’s Hotel Fuerstenfelder in January 1919. Party members—including a young Adolf Hitler—joined together here to discuss themes of nationalism and anti-Semitism.
Situated between the Karolinenplatz and Konigsplatz, the Brown House was the former headquarters of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. It was here, from 1930, that Hitler ran an office and the Nazi Party planned rallies that changed the path of history in Europe and the world.
A popular site for day trips and walking tours from Munich, Eagle’s Nest sits atop the summit of the Kehlstein, a peak in Bavaria’s Berchtesgaden Alps. During Third Reich rule, the Eagle’s Nest played host to social gatherings for members of the Nazi Party.
Heinrich Himmler opened Dachau, the first of the infamous Nazi concentration camps, in 1933. From then until its eventual liberation in 1945, the camp saw some of the Holocaust’s worst atrocities committed by members of the Nazi Party.
